Lauren McCluskey was killed on Oct. 22 by an ex-boyfriend who harassed her for weeks before murdering her. It’s time now for a reckoning, both on the domestic violence epidemic in Utah and the ways law enforcement failed to protect this student. We have to have an honest conversation about what will change — it cannot be what “can” or “should” change, but what will. Our state’s future depends on it.
The day of Lauren’s death, I arrived in Seattle to recruit for the University of Utah. I spent that night reassuring terrified high school students that their siblings would be OK, advising freshmen students to stay inside until we got more information, trying to keep my tone steady.